ATLANTA — In a sport that revels in the unpredictable, the Atlanta Braves were once a sure thing. With almost ruthless efficiency, they won their division 14 times in a row, a streak that began before Dansby Swanson was born and ended when he was almost a teenager.
By then Swanson had charted his career path. As a boy in Marietta, Ga., he dreamed only of playing baseball — and with luck he might even do it for his favorite team. He got his wish in a surprise deal to Atlanta in 2015, just six months after the Arizona Diamondbacks had drafted him first overall out of Vanderbilt.